Fort Worth Police Officer Arrests Mom and Teen For Reporting Crime

Thanks for blogging about this. I read about it last night on Twitter but had not found time today to follow-up. It’s good to know they have an attorney. I also read that the officer has been suspended.

Where I grew up, any adult in the neighborhood, if they saw a kid doing something that might pose physical danger to themselves or others, transgress the law, or cause a problem disturbing the peace of the neighborhood, had the right to walk out to tell you to stop doing whatever it was. Usually a short mea culpa by the kid involved was where it ended. If you talked back, then the neighbor would almost always say something to your parents. at which point you were officially “in trouble”. Depending on what you did, that trouble might end up in a stern talking to or a but whipping. Talking back to a neighbor almost always assured it was the second consequence.

No neighbor would ever raise a hand to physically punish someone else’s kid.

Wow, so you mean to tell me that the neighbor get to choke a little child and is not arrested for assault on a child less than 17 and endangering the welfare of a child…..? but the mother is questioned about not teaching her child not to litter what does that have to do with a grown man putting his hands on a child?This world that we live in has really changed! Just heartbreaking what message did the officer send to the child? Sad very sad 😢😢

Ladylove,
It’s dehumanization, and its intent is to oppress. The intent of oppression is layered, but includes instilling fear of punishment. So, it has been conveyed to the 7 year old that he has no rights when wronged, and to speak about wrong is to be punished, rather directly or indirectly by seeing his family punished.

I totally agree with you — no matter what the child did, the man had no business putting his hands on him. Additionally, when the daughter stepped in to de-escalate, the officer responded by arresting the mom which was also wrong, in my opinion. He was sending a powerful message to that family that they have no rights except the right to be punished.

Ladylove,
There’s a system, a method, and it’s almost old as dirt. To ask a mother “why not?” in response to her saying the man had no right to put his hands on her son, was a provocation. Along with him being reprimanded, I hope the neighbor is made to apologize or charged.

Gronda,
AOL published a piece saying that the police chief said the officer was rude by not racist. Rudeness comes with a reason. That is omitted by those who think racist ideologies have to be outwardly expressed in order to exist. Racism can reveal itself in acts of favoritism.

Can we imagine a 16 year old taking driver’s ed, who is educated in the rules of the road, but speeds anyway. He hits another car. The driver of the other car chokes him for speeding and hitting his car. The police are called. The 16-year old calls his driver’s ed teacher who arrives on the scene. The cop asks the driver’s ed teacher why he didn’t teach the 16-year old not to speed. The teacher asked the officer if that gave the other driver the right to choke the 16-year old. The officer responds, “Why not?” Would that teacher think the officer was simply being rude, or would the teacher think that the officer was showing favoritism to the guy who choked the 16-year old? If favoritism, why? The first most logical presumption is that the officer has something against teens.

The dehumanizing of Black children includes seeing them as older, even as adults. A 7-year old is a 7-year old, and regardless of race, they do things even when told not to. He is still being raised. Now, it is embedded in his memory that the police will not protect him — because they expect for him to act like an adult. If he doesn’t, then his mom and sisters are punished. That’s a huge burden to place on a kid.

Roderick,
Well, of course. When the Rockford School District was sued in federal court for segregation, the city elected a Black mayor. “How can the school district be racist?” was the normal defense and I actually asked several Black school teachers about that. They replied, “Window dressing.”

As I said in my previous comment, there’s a reason why the officer was “rude.” There’s a reason why he was only “rude” to the mom and her family, and not rude to the man who allegedly choked her son.